Saltanat Nukenova, 31, was discovered lifeless final November.
The trial of a former Kazakhstan minister charged with beating his spouse to dying has change into the speaking level throughout the nation, with some seeing it as a litmus take a look at of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s promise to construct a fairer, extra equitable society.
Saltanat Nukenova, 31, was discovered lifeless final November in a restaurant owned by a relative of her husband Kuandyk Bishimbayev, the place the couple had spent nearly an entire day and the earlier evening. She had been unconscious for hours.
In a latest listening to, the court docket was proven 8-hour-long footage of 44-year-old Kuandyk Bishimbayev, a former financial system minister, beating his spouse Saltanat Nukenova. The surveillance footage exhibits Bishimbayev kicking and punching the 31-year-old repeatedly in a restaurant owned by his household.
He’s then seen dragging her by the hair to a separate room, the place there have been no cameras.
When she tried to flee by hiding in the bathroom, Bishimbayev “broke down the door, pulled her out, and continued beating her,” the prosecutor mentioned throughout the trial.
“He grabbed her by the throat after dragging her out of the bathroom. That is when she misplaced consciousness,” the prosecutor added.
As she lay on the ground, coated in her blood, Bishimbayev dialled a fortune-teller, who assured him his spouse can be positive. The ambulance arrived 12 hours later, and the medical employees declared her lifeless on the scene.
In accordance with a coroner’s report, Saltanat died from mind trauma. One in every of her nasal bones was damaged and there have been a number of bruises on her face, head, arms, and fingers.
Bishimbayev is charged with torture and homicide with excessive violence and faces as much as 20 years in jail. The homicide trial, which is being livestreamed on social media, has gripped public consideration and sparked a debate about gender equality and home violence.
Many Kazakhs see Bishimbayev as a typical member of the nation’s rich ruling elite and worry that, even when discovered responsible, he might in some way escape correct punishment – as was the case with a earlier conviction.
Bishimbayev was arrested in 2017 on bribery expenses and sentenced to 10 years in jail however walked free after lower than three years behind bars due to an amnesty and parole.